The wait is over for fans of Samsung’s foldable devices. The company has officially unveiled its new lineup, which includes three models: the top-of-the-line Z Fold 8 Ultra, a thinner flip phone, and a pair of smartwatches. Preorders are now live, with availability set for August 7.
The Z Fold 8 Ultra is the successor to last year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, but it’s not just an incremental update. This new device features a wide-body foldable design specifically optimized for media consumption, rather than multitasking. The phone boasts a 6.5-inch OLED display on the outside and an 8-inch display when folded out.
However, unfold the Z Fold 8, and you get a 7.6-inch 4:3 display that’s perfect for watching widescreen videos or reading documents in portrait orientation. Both the Ultra and wide-body Folds are impressively thin at 4.1 mm and 4.5 mm (unfolded), respectively.
The Z Fold 8 has a 4,800 mAh cell, while the Ultra goes all the way to 5,000 mAh. This is a significant improvement over last year’s model, which only managed to fit 4,400 mAh. The Z Flip 8 is slightly slimmer than past devices of its type and still packs a 4,300 mAh battery.
Samsung has also improved charging speeds this year, but only for the tablet-style foldables. Both those phones now max out at 45 W instead of 25 W, where the Z Flip 8 remains.
In addition to these improvements, Samsung’s new foldables feature a design element called ‘Flex Titanium.’ This consists of a titanium alloy film under the flexible OLED panels, making the screen more resistant to impact and smoother to open. It also reduces the visibility of the dreaded foldable crease.
One notable compromise on cameras is that the Ultra has a triple lens setup like last year’s big foldable: a 200 MP primary, a 10 MP 3x telephoto, and a 50 MP ultrawide. The Z Fold 8 has only two rear cameras: a 50 MP primary and a 50 MP ultrawide.
The new phones will ship with Android 17 and One UI 9, which Samsung says has been further optimized for the AI era. This means that Now Brief can make more suggestions, including for security and privacy insights. The phones also ship with Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM), with support for enhanced foldable multitasking.
The price hikes this year aren’t drastic, but they’re still a concern. The Ultra and Flip are only $100 more than their 2025 counterparts, but foldables were already seeing price bumps even before the RAMpocalypse. A $1,200 price tag will make the Flip 8 a tough sell when Motorola has Razr phones for hundreds less.
Samsung also has some new wearables to pair with its foldable trio. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 will cost a whopping $700, and the Galaxy Watch 9 will start at $380. Both are running on the Snapdragon Wear Elite platform.
The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is Samsung’s updated take on the Apple Watch Ultra. It has a titanium case, more battery capacity, and a brighter display, and it’s rated IP69K for water and dust. The Galaxy Watch 9 comes in 40 mm and 44 mm case sizes and features an aluminum body with a squircle design.
Source: Original article